Former Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater has revealed tragic Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha convinced him to swap Manchester United for the East Midlands club.

Drinkwater, now playing for Chelsea , says he had heard about the money Srivaddhanaprabha was putting into the club but it was only when he first met the Thai billionaire that he understood the full scale of his 'extraordinary' ambition.

The 28-year-old was a key part of the Leicester side that shocked the world to win the Premier League title in 2015-16, forming a dynamic midfield partnership with N'Golo Kante.

And the England international insists that success would have never been possible without 'one of the lads' Srivaddhanaprabha.

Drinkwater celebrates with the Premier League trophy in 2016 (Image: Shaun Botterill)

Srivaddhanaprabha tragically died in a helicopter crash on Saturday (Image: PA)

He wrote in The Times: "It sounds daft, but Vichai wasn’t just the owner of a football club. The Leicester City players will support me when I say this — most of the time it felt like he was one of the lads.

"He was just a proper nice bloke who tried his hardest to make sure all the players were happy. He was a great person to have around a club.

"With him in charge it was just a matter of time before Leicester did something special. If he hadn’t have been there we never would have won the title. He was massively involved in that incredible season in particular."

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Srivaddhanaprabha tragically lost his life on Saturday night when his helicopter, that had picked him up from the centre circle at the King Power Stadium as usual after Leicester's 1-1 draw against West Ham , spiralled out of control shortly after take-off.

The aircraft reached a height of around 200 feet before encountering difficulties and plunging to the concrete below, quickly becoming engulfed in a ball of flames.

Srivaddhanaprabha was one of five people on board, including two pilots and two members of his staff, all of whom also died.